World Poverty (Inspired Post 4)

Today in my Sociology 001 class, we talked about world poverty. This class is exceptional in its ability to cover a huge range of subjects in only one semester. Granted, the amount of depth we can dive into for each topic is minimal, but it is certainly enough to get my mind going. My teacher is obsessed with data and this class period was definitely a time when the facts said it all.

Nearly half of the 6 billion people in the world live in poverty. Each day, 20,000 people die each day from extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is defined as getting by on less than one dollar a day, not meeting basic household needs for survival, and only exists in developing countries. When doing a Google Image search of the word "extreme poverty" the images that come up are entirely disturbing.

Looking at these pictures makes it even harder to comprehend the facts because you put a face to the figures. I literally cannot believe that in this day and age, this type of poverty still occurs. In the world I live in, food is only a problem because it takes time to make and distracts me from doing the myriad of other things I have on my plate. In America, we are so fortunate to live in a world where we don't usually have to think about food.

We cannot live in a world that is completely globalized if this type of poverty is still occurring. We cannot live in a society that is even close to globalization if 20,000 people are dying each day due to hunger.

There are efforts to combat this problem such as The Hunger Site, which easily allows people to give cups of food to the hungry. All you have to do is click the link on the page and 1.1 cups of food will be donated to the hungry. This can occur because of the advertisements that come up after you click. Such a simple and easy way to help others, yet it is so rare that we (myself included) take the 0.3 seconds to do it.

This Sociology class has taught me that there are so many problems in this world that need to be addressed before we can ever get to a fully globalized place. It is upsetting and honestly disgusting that the American culture is so self-centered that we never think about these issues. Every day I throw away food that I haven't completely eaten. I may not be able to change this habit, but I can, at the very least, click the link on The Hunger Site every day and post it to my Facebook so that hopefully others will do the same. At least we will be using technology and social media for the better, Friedman would be happy.

WikiLeaks (Inspired Post #3)

With my embarrassingly minimal understanding of what happened during the WikiLeaks fiasco, I marched into 112 Katz ready to learn. Then I marched right out after realizing I was in the complete wrong classroom. Yet attempt two was successful and I anxiously awaited the presentation's commencement.

A woman popped up on the projector screen and I looked around the room for a good 30 seconds trying to figure out where she was. It was only until 30 embarrassing seconds later that I realized this was a live broadcast and that the presenter was not actually present.

All that aside, I really enjoyed the introduction of the topic, the forum and Mr. Crowley. The topic introduction did a great job of summarizing the events that occurred and explaining (which was helpful for those semi-ignorant ones like me) and the forum explanation cleared up the confusion about where the heck that woman was and why she wasn't actually in our classroom. Her detailed introduction of Mr. Crowley was essential for understanding where he was coming from and why his opinion mattered.

One of the main things Mr. Crowley explained was that there were three main consequences from the WikiLeaks. First, there was a potential impact on critical relationships between the US and other countries. These leaks undermined the trusts others had in the US. The second, and most fully realized, potential consequence was the risk of the lives and livelihoods of people. Mr. Crowley explained that physical harm has occurred as a result of these leaks. Finally, the third consequence is the impact on future net growth.

While Crowley officially condemned the publication of these documents, he explained that the most important problem was what was actually published. Just referencing a place or date that a conversation occurred, rather than actually naming someone, is enough to put lives in jeopardy. Here is a pretty comical representation of the ability for WikiLeaks to expose people that would much rather not be exposed.

While this cartoon uses a light tone, the undermining issue is that the heroes of our society, be it an Afghan citizen or a member of the CIA, can be exposed so easily through WikiLeaks.

Crowley does not aim to limit the freedom of the press, but rather wants them to be responsible journalists that listen to the government on issues concerning highly classified topics. I think he did a good job of explaining that the press surely does not have to listen to the government--they are under no contractual agreement, they will face no sanction-- but they ought to out of good judgement for the safety of citizens around the globe.

I think Mr. Crowley was the perfect person to speak on such a topic. While he may not be entirely neutral (based on his military experience and work for the government), he was extremely knowledgeable of the topic and able to portray his opinions in a way that was easy to understand.

#OccupyWallStreet (Required Blog #8)

I first heard about Occupy Wall Street via Facebook, then via the news. Oh the irony in that one. But I guess it is not entirely ironic that I first heard about it via social media. When Osama bin Laden was murdered, I was studying in Spain and therefore sleeping during the time that the country heard the news and also sleeping during the entire Penn State riot. When I woke up in the morning, I logged on to my Facebook and saw a bunch of status updates, posts, and pictures about Osama dying.

This was not actually one of my friends' posts but it is pretty entertaining...

I scrolled down my entire newsfeed reading all the updates and then I fact checked on Google news until I found a legitimate enough web source (Washington Post) for me to feel confident telling my host mom the news. When I did, she ran and turned on the TV and low and behold the Spaniards were chattin' up a storm about it.

Every celebrity death, every major news event, and every earthquake-- I find out about via Facebook. Facebook is inevitably a source of information that is fast and easy. While most of my friends' status updates have more to do with what they ate for breakfast than what is happening around the world, it is extremely important to realize the impact Facebook, and all social media, is having on the world.

While Malcolm Gladwell would like for us to believe social media "makes it easier for social activists to express themselves and harder for that expression to have any impact", I think we are seeing a clear impact with the Occupy Movement. The combination of technology and globalization has lead to the movements popping up around the world. People are not just tweeting about it, not just updating their Facebooks about it, but they are camping out in the HUB to #OccupyPennState or planning events outside London to #OccupyEngland. This use of technology to inspire and promote the fight for global democracy. While Morozov believes that social media leads to Slacktivism, in this case, he is and Gladwell are both wrong. In this case, social media has been the outlet used to organize, inspire and create an actual, physical movement. And thanks to technology and the interconnectedness of our world today, that movement is spreading like wildfire.

When one protesting idea gains enough popularity that it is repeated in over a thousand cities around the world, and when it gains enough popularity that President Obama talked about it, you know that that was an impactful idea. After Arab Spring and the "revolution" in Iran, it is apparent that social media is having a bigger and bigger effect on our nation. The #Occupy movement is just one more push toward using social media to implement and promote real-life ideas.

Slackity Slacktivism (Required Blog #7)

Chapter seven of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom by Evengy Morozov focuses on a term called Slacktivism. This is the idea that people have gotten lazy and are unmotivated to actually make monumental changes in society. Rather, they hide behind their computer screens and like a page on Facebook that promotes the fight against breast cancer or they retweet a post (and don't even bother putting it in their own words) about supporting our troops. As Morozov explains, "Given how easy groups can form online, it is easy to mistake quantity of quality." (p. 187)

While I agree that the new age of technology has definitely caused people to be lazy in terms of their support for causes, I am not so sure it is an entirely bad thing. For the laziest of lazy, you can even support a cause through your cell phone (which obviously is attached to your hand 24/7) by texting a number that will automatically draw $10 from your account in support of that cause.

This is probably one of the easiest possible ways to support a cause. Yet what Morovoz would define as laziness, I would define as pure genius. Because when one text message turns into this...

...ten dollars turns into hundreds and thousands of dollars. Technology has simply made it easier to support causes in just about every way and I don't see anything wrong with that.

In my opinion, the whole point of creating a Facebook page is to promote awareness. Whether it is for your company, the party you are throwing Friday night, or a non-profit, getting the word out to a lot of people without a lot of stress is possible because of Facebook and other technologies. It is okay to have the Slacktivists--it is okay to have people sitting behind their computer and "liking" the fight against pediatric cancer. That handy dandy like button that we know all too well...

should not be viewed as a problem in our society, but rather as an excellent form of creating awareness. All the traditional techniques to get people actually involved in a cause still can be and still ought to be utilized. Technology like Facebook and Twitter do not take away from these traditional techniques, but rather make people more aware of issues when they do see traditional techniques being employed.

For example, last year THON was heavily promoted after it there was a news report that focused on all the great things THON does for the Four Diamonds Families. This clip was disseminated all over YouTube, Facebook and Twitter and brought much more legitimacy to the THON name. Now, when I stand on the street corner dancing around with a big sign around my neck that says "Help Kids Fight Cancer", people are more likely to think "Hey...I saw that on TV last year!" or "Hey, I saw a YouTube clip about this organization." These thoughts will keep the coins and dollars coming into my can.

Morozov fails to see the bright side of social medias use in the promotion and spreading of awareness of causes. He pretty much views technology in general as an evil, and in this case, I think he is wrong.

Is Censorship Always Bad? (Required Post 6)

In his book, The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom, Evengy Morozov discusses the amount of censoring that is occurring worldwide. While he discusses it as a negative thing and uses a lot of cynicism, it got me thinking about whether censorship is always a bad thing. I have come to the conclusion that no, censorship is not always bad.

Censorship has changed within the past few decades. What used to be government censoring citizens by blatantly not allowing them to see things has now turned into a much more stealthy approach. As I mentioned in class, I was recently shocked to realize that Google was actually tracking the links I had previously clicked on on different computers because I was signed into my Gmail account while searching. My initial reaction was to be creeped out, hate the Big Brother looking over my shoulder, and sign out of my Gmail account before ever searching for something again. But then I got to thinking. The fact that Google was able to tell me which links I had previously clicked on was really helpful. What if I had spent a while searching for something, finally found the information I was looking for, and then accidentally lost the link. At least I would be able to know which links I had clicked on, how many times I had clicked them, and when I clicked on them. What could be seen as censorship could also be seen as a really handy tool for research.

For at least a year after I applied to do Birthright in Israel, the ads on the side of my Facebook page all revolved around being Jewish, finding a Jewish boyfriend, or going to Israel. When I spent two weeks in Denmark, the ads on the side of my Facebook were in Danish for at least a month. And while I was also creeped out by this as well, I guess I would rather have the ads relate to things I am interested in than be about random topics. 

It seems to me that old school censoring is more likely to be “bad” than the new forms of censoring. Not allowing kids to read Harry Potter in the classroom has limited benefits for those who are being censored other than limiting the information they are exposed to. The new type of censorship still continues to limit information, but it at least gives people something back in return. In this world where we are given so much information all at once it is often overwhelming and hard to sort through. So maybe if the news that comes up on my homepage is only the things I would be most interested in reading (even if it means that Big Brother knows what things I would be most interested in reading) it would actually be beneficial for me as the user.

We constantly think of censorship in a negative light and as the government denying its citizens the right to information. It is time that we redefine censorship and also think about whether it is always inherently bad.

Rest In Peace, Steve Jobs (Inspired Post 2)

Last night, I pulled up Firefox on my Macbook computer, opened up Facebook and saw through repeated status updates that Steve Jobs passed away. Immediately, I switched to Google News to check the legitimacy of the sources and when I saw Washington Post, I knew it was true.

I spent the next half hour or so reading over inspirational quotes said by Steve Jobs, a man who was truly able to express his feelings and ideals through words.

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. Stay hungry. Stay foolish." - Steve Jobs

His passing made me, and most of the world, stop and reflect on the impact he has had on technology. His innovation and creativity have changed the world as we know it. Two of the celebrities I follow on Facebook made a point to update their status in memoriam. Lance Armstrong explained that he was devastaed and posted this quote on his page, said be Steve Jobs himself-- "A computer is the most remarkable tool that we've ever come up with. It's a bicycle for our minds". The Fray, a popular music group, made their status, "It's crazy how something as simple as Video Chat or FaceTime can make you feel at home when you're not. Thank you Steve Jobs for making this crazy job of ours a little easier for us and our families, among many other things. Rest in Peace."

In a class about globalization, I think it is extremely important to stop and remember a man like Steve Jobs. His inventions are truly global-- you can see Apple products around the world. When I was in Europe and even in Morocco, I saw iPods, iTunes, iPhones, and Mac computers. And not has Steve Jobs, and Apple as a whole, created incredible products, but they have also encouraged the creativity and competition of new products, as can be seen with the new Windows Media Phones, tablets like the iPad, and an array of MP3 players that are trying to compete with the iPod.

Rest In Peace, Steve Jobs. You are a technological legend that has changed the world for the better. (Or so Friedman would say!)

INTAG 499B (Inspired Post 1)

Tonight, I attended a Distinguished Honors Faculty Dinner with Mark Brennan for about Community and Leadership Development in Vietnam. I was lucky to have gotten a spot on this dinner--they fill up so quickly. I think it is the combination of free food, interesting topics, and iPhones that get e-mail immediately. Unfortunately for me, I have a phone that is internet-less.

This is not exactly my phone...but close.

I was initially going to say that I have a regular phone that doesn't have internet. Yet in this day and age, it is actually irregular that I don't have a phone with internet. Oh technology, how you change the way of life so quickly... I am at a huge disadvantage in terms of signing up for these things because of my phone (along with a bunch of other disadvantages as well).

Anyway, this dinner was a really interesting opportunity because we were able to hear about Dr. Brennan's experiences in Vietnam. He had a graduate student in the past that was from Vietnam and they worked a lot together at Penn State. After the student graduated, Dr. Brennan decided he wanted to go to Vietnam and learn about his student's culture. He has spent a great deal of time in Vietnam and has traveled around much of Southeast Asia. His work has been particularly focused on international development efforts. He is most interested in the rebuilding efforts of Vietnam and Cambodia because they are so distinct in how they have occurred, but so similar as well. Dr. Brennan is actually hosting a class next semester that takes a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia after learning about the community development efforts that have evolved from the grassroots up in both of these countries. I am planning to apply to this class because this seems like an exceptional opportunity. I really hope I get in because ever since coming back from Europe, I have wanted to go abroad again--anywhere where I can learn about and explore another culture!

Throughout this entire dinner, I was constantly reflecting on how prevalent globalization is in our world today. The fact that we can learn so much about other cultures and then get the opportunity to actually visit these countries shows that the borders are blurring and the world is flattening as we speak. It may not be as flat as Thomas Friedman claims, but we are definitely entering a world full of globalization.

The ease of travel is one thing, but the ease of the transfer of information is another totally separate thing. The amount of information I was able to find out about Vietnam and Cambodia by doing a simple Google search was incredible. I could sit in my own bedroom and learn so much about the world. It is astounding to see the power of the Internet. But then again, nothing compares to actually going to a country and experiencing the life there first hand. I certainly am crossing my fingers that I get into his class...